Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 61.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 73,700 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $5,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% in the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 58,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,500,000 after buying an additional 24,881 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth $1,104,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 15,000 shares of company stock worth $1,173,350 over the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $77.24 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.33 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.16. The company has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.